Machine for applying tape to the back seam of shoe uppers



Feb. 5,1963 H. J. VACHON 3,076,212

MACHINE FOR APPLYING TAPE TO THE BACK SEAM OF SHOE UPPERS Filed Aug. 25, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 S 6 A24 8 I22 |2O I04 I52 0 T us floe L o I56 j 66 1 4 v f /||O 23 k fl F G. I

INVENTOR.

I HUBERT J. VACllON ATTORNEYS 3,076,212 MACHINE FOR APPLYING TAPE TO THE BACK SEAM 0F SHOE UPPERS Filed Aug. 25, 1961 H. J; VACHON Feb. 5, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

HUBERT J. VACHON ATTORNEYS Feb. 5, 1963 H. J. VACHON I MACHINE FOR APPLYING TAPE TO THE BACK SEAM' 0F SHOE UPPERS 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Aug. 25, 1961 INVENTOR.

HUBERT J. VACHON ATTORNEYS Feb. 5, 1963 v H. J. VACHON MACHINE FOR APPLYING TAPE TO THE BACK SEAM OF SHOE UPPERS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Aug. 25, 1961 INVENTOR. HUBERT J. VACHON FIGS FIGS

ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,076,212 MACHINE FOR APPLYING TAFE TO THE BACK SEAM 0F SHOE UPPERS Hubert J. Vachon, Lynn, Mass, assignor to Boston Machine Works Company, Lynn, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts 1 Filed Aug. 25, 1961, Ser. No. 133,980 11 Claims. 01. 12-s9.s

This invention relates to improvements in a machine for applying adhesive tape to the back seams of shoe uppers which are made of leather or textile fabric. In many respects, the machine resembles that shown and described in US. Patent No. 2,871,493, granted February 3, 1959. There are, however, a number of valuable improvements in the new machine. One of the objects of the invention is to provide a machine which automatically adjusts itself to the thickness of the work-piece presented to it, so that the end of the tape which is applied to the back seam of the workpiece will start exactly at the leading edge of the work-piece regardless of the thickness of the leather or fabric of which the work-piece is made.

Another object of the invention is to improve the speed and reliability of operation of the machine so that defective products resulting from malfunctioning of the machine are greatly reduced in number.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine in which three sizes of tape can be used interchangeably without adjusting the machine.

Another object of the invention is to improve the feed Wheels so that the work-pieces will go straight through the nip, resisting any tendency of the seam to turn aside as it goes through.

Another object of the invention is to stiffen the new end of the tape supply after a piece has been cut off in the process of applying it to a seam so that the new end will not curl back when advanced to engage and adhere to the next work-piece presented to the feed wheels.

A further object of the invention is to provide means for reliably folding back the margins of the pieces of fabric which are joined by the back seam to make an upper of a textile fabric.

When the quarter pieces which are stitched together to form the back seam are of leather, the material can be trimmed close to the line of stitching, but when the quarter pieces are of a textile fabric, the margins at the back seam cannot be trimmed so close since such trimming would be apt to result in raveling at the back seam. Hence it is prudent to leave a margin of about 7 inch between the seam and the adjacent edge of each quarter piece. When a work-piece consisting of the quarters of a fabric upper has an adhesive tape applied to the back seam, the margins next to the back seam must be turned back smoothly and overlaid with the tape so that there will be no lumps or ridges at or near the back seam. It is an object of the invention to supply the tape-applying machine with a device for reliably separating and folding back the margins of afabric upper along the back seam thereof as the work-piece is fed to the tape-applying station of the machine. Other advantageous improvements in the machine are hereinafter described in more detail. For a more complete understanding of the invention reference may be had to the following description thereof and to the drawings, of which FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of a tape-applying ma chine embodying the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a partial plan view of the machine shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a front elevation, on a larger scale, of the upper part of the machine shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURES 4 and 5 are side elevations, on a larger scale,

3,076,212 Patented Feb. 5., 1963 of the upper part of the machine shown in FIGURE 1, the moving parts being shown in different positions;

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of some of the switchoperating mechanism;

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of the tape approach guide;

FIGURE 7A is a front elevation of the approach guide;

FIGURES 8 and 9 are side and end elevations of a trigger piece for fabric uppers;

FIGURE 10 is a fragmentary elevational view, on an enlarged scale, of feed rolls for the work-pieces;

FIGURE 11 is a perspective view, on an enlarged scale, of the knife which severs the tape; and

FIGURE 12 is a perspective view of a guide bracket for the tape.

The machine has a base 20 on which is an upright frame 22. A head 23 projects laterally from the frame 22. The base carries an electric motor (not shown) which drives a shaft 24 while the machine is in operation. An upper feed roll 26 is mounted on the shaft 24 and drives a lower feed roll 28 by contact when the rolls are together. The lower feed roll 28 is carried by a rock arm 35 which is mounted on a rock shaft 32 journalled in the base 29.

The upper feed roll 26 is of metal with fine teeth or knurling on the periphery to ensure positive feed of the work-pieces. As indicated in FIGURE 10, there are two low peripheral ridges 34:, 36 with a shallow groove 38 between them. The seam of the work-piece is received in this groove and is kept centered thereby. When the work-piece is of thin leather, longitudinal wrinkling of the seam is prevented by the groove. The periphery of the roll 26 is preferably thin and is connected to the hub 46 by a radial web 42 which is perforated to protect the hub from heat when the periphery of the roll is heated by contact with a heating shoe 44. The heating shoe is carried by a bracket 46 of heat insulating material mounted on the frame and is used when the nature of the work-pieces require it, e.g., leathers which are oily or chalk-covered. The lower feed roll 28 has two rubber rings 5t 52 which are spaced so that the ridges 3d, 36 of the upper feed roll are received between them.

The mechanism carried by the head 23 for feeding and cutting the tape which is applied to work-pieces as hereinafter described is operated by a solenoid 54 which rocks a shaft 56 by means of a crank lever 53 to which it is attached. When energized, the solenoid rocks the shaft 56 counterclockwise (as seen in FIGURES 4 and 5) against the pull of a spring 6% which is attached to a pin 62 carried by an arm 64- which is mounted on the shaft 56. The pin 62. is connected to an approach guide link 66 by a bearing 63 so that when the solenoid rocks the shaft 56, the link 66 is raised. When the solenoid is deenergized, the spring 6% pulls the guide link downward, to a position adjustably limited by a stop 67 consisting of a screw against the lower end of which the other end of the lever 64 strikes. The approach guide link 66 is a flat metal rod carrying at its lower end the tape approach guide 76. The guide 7t) has a hub 72 which is fitted loosely on the shaft 24 for support. An arm 74 extends outward from the hub 72 and carries an arcuate guide plate 76 for the tape. In order to acc0rnmodate difierent widths of tape T, the convex face of the guide plate 76 is laterally stepped, as shown at 77 in FIGURES 7 and 7A, so that the three widths of tape which are most frequently used, namely, /2", /8 and 1 1", can be guided by the side walls of the steps. The tape approach guide 70 is connected to the link 66 by a small bracket 80 which is secured to the lower end of the link 66 and has a hollow sleeve 82 which fits on a stub-shaft 84 projecting from the arm 74. Adjustably mounted on the outside of the sleeve 82 is a tape-locking clip 86. When the link 66 is in its normal lowered position (FIGURE 4), the clip 86 is clear of the guide plate '76. When the link 66 is elevated by the solenoid (FIG- URE the teeth at the lower end of the clip 86 are moved against the tape on the guide 76 to hold the tape T firmly while it is being cut as hereinafter described. Mounted on the head 23 is a fixed knife 90 which extends out in the space between the upper feed roll and the guide plate 76. An enlarged view of the knife 90 is given in FIGURE l1. The knife consists of an arcuate plate the lower margin of which is bent out and serrated to form a row of sharp teeth 92 which are separated by arcuate recesses. This prevents the accumulation of dirt, adhesives, etc. between the teeth so that the knife is selfcleaning. Mounted on the knife are stripper springs 94 which push the fresh end portion T of the cut tape clear of the teeth immediately after the cut. At the moment when the tape is cut by the lower edge of the knife 90, the lower lip of the guide plate 76 is spaced above the cutting edge of the knife so that the end portion T is left hanging down from the lip of the guide plate after the cut, as shown in FIGURE 5.

A detent 96 is rockably mounted on the arm 74 adjacent to the lower end of the guide plate 76. The lower lip or end of the guide plate has an arcuate recess 98 against which the detent 96 is pressed by a spring 100. The detent comprises a thin bit of sheet metal which is transversely curved to fit into the arcuate recess 98 at the end of the guide 76. The detent locks the tape against retraction after it has been cut and also acts with the recess 96 to bow the cut end portion T of the tape transversely so that the end portion will be in the form of a shallow channel. This stiffens the end portion T of the tape and prevents its curling and fouling on adjacent parts of the machine when it is presented to the next work-piece approaching the nip of the feed rolls.

The cutting of the tape after it has been applied to a back seam or side seam is brought about by energization of the solenoid 54 in response to the closing of a normally open microswitch 102. The switch is closed by the downward movement of an adjustable finger 104 carried by a cross-head 106 in a normally elevated position. The crosshead is secured to a vertical rod 108 which is slidably carried by a fixed portion 110 of the head 23. The rod 108 is pressed downward by a spring 112 and carries at its lower end a trigger 114 which rides on the seam of a work-piece which is being fed between the feed rolls 26 and 28 and is directly above an under seam guide member 115 mounted on the rock arm 30. Whenever the trigger is riding on the seam of a work-piece, it holds the finger 104 raised so that the switch cannot close.

A feeler comprising a seam guide spindle 116 which is vertically slidable in the portion 110 of the head 23 and a pair of scam guides 118 is above and nearly in contact with the lower feed roll 28. The seam guides 118 extend nearly into the nip of the feed rolls 26 and 28. When the leading edge of a work-piece is pushed in between the seam guides 118 and the lower feed roll 28, the rubber rings 5-0, 52 take hold and advance the workpiece to the nip of the feed rolls with no further effort on the part of the operator, and the feeler spindle 116 is lifted by an amount depending on the thickness of the work-piece material. At the upper end of the spindle 116 is a cross-head 120 on which is an adjustable button 122 pressing upward through a short rock-arm 124 against a lifter roll 128 at the upper end of the approach guide link 66. When a work-piece is approaching and going through the nip of the feed rolls, it raises the seam guides 118. These in turn raise the link 66 slightly according to the thickness of the work-piece, the amount of elevation of the link being magnified by the rock-arm 124. Since the new end portion T of the tape after the tape has been cut is gripped by the approach guide '76 and the detent 96, the cut end is lifted by the raising of the link 66 so that it is always on a level with the leading end of the approaching work-piece when the two come together, regardless of the thickness of the leather or other material of which the work-piece is made.

It is desirable to keep the microswitch 102 open when there is no work-piece in the machine. For this purpose a spring 130 is provided to press the spindle 116 downward. Fixed on the spindle 116 is a block 132 having at its end an adjustable screw 134 which bears on a rocklever 136 pivoted at 138 on the fixed portion 110 of the head 23. The other end of the lever 136 is pivotally attached to a vertical link 140 by which it is connected to a block 147 fixed on the trigger rod 108. The spring 130 is strong enough to overcome the spring 112 on the rod 108 so that normally the spindle 116 is pressed down to rock the lever 136 sufiiciently to elevate the rod 108 and hold the micro-switch open.

When a work-piece W is introduced under the trigger 114 the work-piece raises the trigger and thus elevates the rod 108 a little higher than it was before so that the switch 102 cannot close as long as the trigger 114 is riding on the work-piece. When the leading edge of the work-piece reaches the seam guides 118, it pushes them up and thereby raises the spindle 116 and block 132 so that the screw 134 moves out of contact with the rock lever 136. The latter then does not support the rod 108 but the trigger 114 keeps the rod 108 up and the microswitch open until the trailing edge of the work-piece moves beyond the end of the trigger 114. At this moment the rod 108 is supported neither by the trigger 114 nor by the linkage operated by the seam guides 118. It therefore descends by gravity assisted by the spring 112 and closes the microswitch.

The closing of the microswitch energizes the solenoid 54 which thereupon rocks the shaft 56. This instantly raises the approach guide link 66 which rocks the approach guide 70 counterclockwise to the position shown in FIGURE 5 and presses the locking clip 86 against the tape, thus gripping the tape strongly as the workpiece in the nip of the feed rolls pulls the tape against the serrated edge of the knife 90. This cuts the tape a short distance below the detent 96 leaving an end portion T extending down from the lip 96. The rest of the severed piece of tape is drawn through the nip and pressed against the trailing portion of the back seam. The trailing end of the severed piece of tape can be made to be spaced as desired from the trailing edge of the work-piece by adjusting the trigger 114 toward or from the feed wheels after a knurled nut 150 has been loosened. The further the trigger 114 is from the feed rolls, the sooner the trailing edge of the work-piece will move from under it to actuate the solenoid and cut the tape as described. As soon as the trailing edge of the work-piece has moved out from under the seam guides 118 or the next workpiece is introduced under the trigger 114, the finger 104 is thereby elevated to open the microswitch 102, whereupon the solenoid is deenergized and the approach guide 70 descends to the position shown in FIGURE 4. This puts the extremity of the tape portion T adjacent to the nip of the feed rolls and at the correct height to be engaged by the leading edge of the next work-piece, regardless of how rapidly the operator inserts successive work-pieces under the trigger.

A certain amount of pull is required to draw the tape from a roll thereof which is supported at a convenient location near the head 23. The rock shaft 56 operates an arm 152 which carries a one-way gripping device consisting of a knurled roll 154 and a claw 156 which is spring-pressed against the roll in such a way as to permit only forward progress of the tape which passes between the roll and claw. When the shaft 56 is rocked by the solenoid, the arm 152 swings counterclockwise to pull some tape away from the roll and thus to provide slack for the operation of the approach guide 70.

The tape goes from the pull-off member through a fixed guide 158 mounted on the head 23. The guide 158, as indicated in FIGURE 12, has a guide channel with stepped sides to center tapes of /z", -76" or width. This cooperates with the guide channel on the approach guide plate 76 to guide tapes having any one of the three widths mentioned. Other widths can be accommodated by providing guide members 158 and 76 with channels of corresponding widths.

For leather work-pieces which are trimmed very close to the back seam, as indicated in FIGURE 10, a simple trigger member similar to that shown in Patent No. 2,871,- 493 is employed. When the work-pieces W are of textile fabrics, the margins M,M' at the back seam cannot be trimmed so close. These margins must be turned back evenly to make a smooth finish when overlaid by the tape. For this purpose a trigger 114 such as is illustrated in FIGURES 8 and 9 is preferably employed. This trigger has a keel portion 160 which enters between the margins of the parts of the work-piece at the back seam and thus starts to separate the margins. The .work-piece then passes to a plow 162 which is removably mounted on the spindle 116. The plow is divergent in width and is shaped to open out and fold back the margins as indicated at M,M in FIGURE 6. The plow 162 is not needed for leather work-pieces and is easily dismounted when leather work-pieces are to be operated on.

I claim:

1. In a machine for applying adhesive tape to the back or side seams of shoe uppers, a pair of feed rolls, means for driving the upper roll of said feed rolls, a knife mounted near the nip of said feed rolls, a tape approach guide adjacent to part of the periphery of said upper roll near said nip, said approach guide being normally in a lowered position in which it shields said knife from contact with the tape, means for momentarily elevating said approach guide higher than said knife as the trailing edge of a work-piece approaches the nip of said rolls to expose said knife to severing engagement by said tape whereby an end portion of the freshly cut tape extends down from said approach guide, and control means for said elevating means including a feeler engaging the lower feed roll near said nip and adapted to be raised slightly by a work-piece inserted between it and said lower roll, said control means also including mechanical connections between the approach guide and feeler operating to adjust the lowered position of the approach guide equally with any upward movement of said feeler, whereby the freshly cut end of the tape on the approach guide is presented accurately to the leading edge of a work-piece on the lower roll approaching said nip, regardless of the thickness of the material in the work-piece.

2. Mechanism as described in claim 1, said control means including a trigger arranged to ride on the workpiece in advance of said feeler, means responsive to elevation of said trigger by a work-piece beneath it to prevent operation of said guide elevating means while the trigger is thus elevated, and means normally preventing operation of said guide elevating means but responsive to elevation of said feeler by a work-piece beneath it tov permit operation of said guide elevating means.

3. Mechanism as described in claim 1, and means at the lower end of said guide means transversely bowing the depending end portion of the tape to a longitudinal channel form.

4. Mechanism as described in claim 3, said tape-bowing means comprising a concavely curved edge at the lower end of said approach guide, and a spring-pressed detent having an arcuate edge fitting against said lower end edge of the approach guide.

5. Mechanism as described in claim 1, said knife consisting of a' plate a marginal portion of which is bent up and has a serrated edge with sharp teeth separated by arcuate recesses.

6. Mechanism as described in claim 1, said approach guide having a hub concentric with said upper feed roll.

7. Mechanism as described in claim 1, said knife consisting of a plate having a serrated flange along one edge thereof, and spring means mounted on said plate for stripping from said serrated flange the end of the tape after a piece has been severed therefrom.

8. Mechanism as described in claim 1, said approach guide comprising an arcuate plate, a hub rockable about the axis of the upper feed roll, and an arm extending from said hub and secured to a side edge of said plate, the convex face of said arcuate plate having stepped side margins to be engaged by the edges of tapes of difierent widths.

9. Mechanism as described in claim 1, said approach guide comprising an arcuate plate, a hub rockable about the axis of the upper feed roll, and an arm extending from said hub and secured to a side edge of said plate, said elevating means for said approach guide including a vertically reciprocable bar pivotally joined to said arm to rock said approach guide, and a spring claw member adjustably fixed on said bar and arranged to move into engagement with the convex face of said approach guide when the reciprocable bar rises.

10. Mechanism as described in claim 1, said feeler including two seam guide elements engaging the lower feed roll, and a seam-opening member detachably mounted on said feeler, said member having a portion extending between and parallel to said seam guide elements, said portion having a V bottom surface the angle of which progressively increases in the direction of movement of a work-piece under the member.

11. Mechanism as described in claim 1, the periphery of said upper feed roll having two circumferential ridges axially spaced from the ends of the roll and with a circumferential groove between them, the peripheral surface between each ridge and the adjacent end of the roll being knurled.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

1. IN A MACHINE FOR APPLYING ADHESIVE TAPE TO THE BACK OR SIDE SEAMS OF SHOE UPPERS, A PAIR OF FEED ROLLS, MEANS FOR DRIVING THE UPPER ROLL OF SAID FEED ROLLS, A KNIFE MOUNTED NEAR THE NIP OF SAID FEED ROLLS, A TAPE APPROACH GUIDE ADJACENT TO PART OF THE PERIPHERY OF SAID UPPER ROLL NEAR SAID NIP, SAID APPROACH GUIDE BEING NORMALLY IN A LOWERED POSITION IN WHICH IT SHIELDS SAID KNIFE FROM CONTACT WITH THE TAPE, MEANS FOR MOMENTARILY ELEVATING SAID APPROACH GUIDE HIGHER THAN SAID KNIFE AS THE TRAILING EDGE OF A WORK-PIECE APPROACHES THE NIP OF SAID ROLLS TO EXPOSE SAID KNIFE TO SEVERING ENGAGEMENT BY SAID TAPE WHEREBY AN END PORTION OF THE FRESHLY CUT TAPE EXTENDS DOWN FROM SAID APPROACH GUIDE, AND CONTROL MEANS FOR SAID ELEVATING MEANS INCLUDING A FEELER ENGAGING THE LOWER FEED ROLL NEAR SAID NIP AND ADAPTED TO BE RAISED SLIGHTLY BY A WORK-PIECE INSERTED BETWEEN IT AND SAID LOWER ROLL, SAID CONTROL MEANS ALSO INCLUDING MECHANICAL CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE APPROACH GUIDE AND FEELER OPERATING TO ADJUST THE LOWERED POSITION OF THE APPROACH GUIDE EQUALLY WITH 